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The Apple Heart Study is a collaboration between Apple and Stanford Medicine.

Apple; Thinkstock

December 11, 2017

The tech giant that brought you the Mac and the iPhone X is once again breaking into the healthcare market. In collaboration with Stanford Health, Apple recently launched the Apple Heart Study app, which works with the Apple Watch heart rate sensor to monitor users’ heart rhythms and alert those who are experiencing atrial fibrillation (afib), a type of irregular heart beat. If an abnormal heart rhythm — an arrhythmia — is detected, the user will receive a free iPhone consultation with one of the study’s doctors and an electrocardiogram peripheral (ECG) for further monitoring.

It’s important to note, though, that Apple is not seeking Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the Apple Watch to become a medical device, and it should not be used as a diagnostic tool. Rather, Apple hopes participants of the study will use their devices and the app as a screening tool. Individuals age 22 and older can join the study by downloading the app.

The research will help Stanford Medicine scientists to better understand how technology can be used to improve patient care. And because researchers wil be analzying data from a younger population than most who are at risk of afib, it's possible that researchers will be better able to distinguish between abnormal heart rhythms that are problematic and those that are benign.

Atrial fibrillation is one of the most common forms of arrhythmia and affects at least 2.7 million Americans. Early diagnosis and treatment of afib may prevent more serious heart-related complications, such as stroke, blood clot, or heart failure.

Read on for the top coverage on how the Apple Watch can be used to treat health problems like atrial fibrillation, high cholesterol, and sleep apnea.

Apple COO Jeff Williams explains how the company's revolutionary heart study came to be

Apple Watch has always included a heart rate sensor. But to screen for atrial fibrillation, Apple needed to do more: It needed to monitor the heart's rhythm. To do that, the company used a combination of hardware and software tools. It works by combining LED lights that flash hundreds of times each second and light-sensitive semiconductor devices to detect the quantity of blood flowing through the wrist.

AI Can Help Apple Watch Predict High Blood Pressure, Sleep Apnea

There's GPS, a heart-rate sensor, cellular connectivity, and computing resources that not long ago would have filled a desk-dwelling beige box. The wonder gadget doesnt have a sphygmomanometer for measuring blood pressure or polysomnographic equipment found in a sleep lab, but thanks to machine learning, it might be able to help with their work.

Watching the rhythm of your heart is getting quite a bit easier. AliveCor, the originators of the to-go ECG smartphone market, have announced FDA clearance of the KardiaBand single-lead ECG device for the Apple Watch. The device is capable of detecting atrial fibrillation, a common heart rhythm disorder that's difficult to diagnose.